Ryan climbed out of the car and stood outside the church, knowing he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his father. “We couldn’t even give Dad a proper funeral,” he thought. Suddenly, Bella’s sharp bark distracted him.

Ryan turned to his car, where Bella, his usually well-behaved dog, was unusually agitated. “Bella!” he commanded, signaling for her to lie down. She obeyed, and he gave her a reassuring pat through the open window. “Now, stay,” he instructed before walking away, ignoring her whine as he entered the church. Inside, his father Arnold’s casket was already in place, closed off due to the infectious disease that had claimed his life.

Ryan took his seat beside his mother, steeling himself for the service. Given the circumstances, Arnold’s body was to be cremated rather than buried. Just as the final hymn began, Bella’s frantic barking echoed through the church. She lunged onto the casket, knocking over flower arrangements, and barked relentlessly. When she locked eyes with Ryan in her alert stance, he knew something was wrong. “Open the casket!” he demanded.

Gasps filled the room as Ryan flung open the casket—only to find it empty. “Wh—where’s my brother?” his uncle stammered, glaring at the funeral director. The shock was too much for Ryan’s mother, who collapsed. Ryan caught her just in time, rushing her to the hospital. The mystery of his father’s missing body had begun.

Back at his mother’s house, Ryan called the police. Detective Bradshaw confirmed that the coroner had released Arnold’s remains to the funeral home but had no further leads. “Was your father involved in anything I should know about?” the detective asked. Ryan, who had distanced himself from his father’s business to run his dog training center, insisted Arnold would never risk his reputation. With no immediate answers, Ryan took matters into his own hands.

At the morgue, Ryan learned the coroner had resigned, and there was no replacement. When the receptionist refused to show him his father’s file, he bribed her with $1,000 to sneak inside. To his shock, Arnold’s file was missing. His frustration grew until his father’s lawyer, Mr. Stevens, called, urgently summoning him to Arnold’s office. There, Ryan discovered his father’s emails had been wiped—and two valuable figurines were missing from his office.